


We'll get there eventually

by MorganBartonRomanoff



Series: Avengers Bingo 2020 [4]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 5 + 1, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Spiderman: Far From Home, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Found Family, Gen, Happy Tony Stark, I did my best, Iron Dad, Iron Dad Cliches Bingo, Light Angst, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Platonic Slow Burn, Precious Peter Parker, Slow Burn, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, avengersbingo, spider son
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-23 01:37:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23003686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorganBartonRomanoff/pseuds/MorganBartonRomanoff
Summary: Five times Tony and Peter weren’t there yet and one time they knew they’d been wrong all along.Part Four of my Avengers Bingo; Square filled - Slow Burn /platonic/Iron Dad Bingo Cliches, square filled - Calling Tony 'Dad'
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, minor Michelle Jones/Peter Parker - Relationship
Series: Avengers Bingo 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1600987
Comments: 16
Kudos: 186





	We'll get there eventually

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Avengers Bingo 2020 by [avengersbingo](https://avengersbingo.tumblr.com)

1.

After Tennessee, after Harley Keener, Tony had sworn to himself he would never intentionally put a child in harm’s way. He hated every second of Berlin, every second Spider-man spent in the air, fighting Tony’s own teammates. It never should have taken such a turn. The Avengers should have just taken responsibility for their actions, should have come to terms with the destruction they rained down on the world every time they were needed.

Yes, a lot of it was his fault. Ultron definitely was. But he wasn’t the only one to blame. Each and every one of them contributed to the success of the mission. As well as to the devastation after it.

Tony never wanted to turn them against him, but they just wouldn’t see reason. In the end, when it came down to it, he knew he would need every help he could get to deal with the problem at hand. It was a poorly handled situation, true, but at the time neither of them were thinking straight.

He tried to soothe his conscience, telling himself half-truths. He truly hadn’t known Spider-man was a teenager. (Until he’d told FRIDAY to run a background check.) The kid healed freakishly fast (even though he still felt all of the pain) and was super strong. (Not that it was an excuse to involve him in a fight with enhanced individuals and trained soldiers.)

But Peter’s quips during the airport battle were soothing, a reminder that the kid was still breathing and unharmed. They were a calming presence in the back of Tony’s mind while he fought off his own friends. And some of _their_ friends.

 _Keep your distance, web them up._ That’s what Tony had told him. That’s what the kid should have done. Except, for some reason, no one wanted to listen to what Tony was saying.

He went hand to hand with Barnes and the bird guy.

Steve threw a fucking jetway at him. And Peter still kept up the smart-ass comments.

He glued himself to the big, big guy.

And yes, okay, his Star-Wars-inspired plan worked but he got himself knocked to the ground. Not the best outcome Tony could have thought of.

All the way to Siberia, Tony couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d just done, how much worse it had just gotten, how much they had just proved his point. They had ruined an entire airport because of a childish argument.

Tony was furious. That’s what kept him alive until he got back to Berlin, back to the kid who had already recovered and no sign of any confrontation was visible on his ten-year-old face. He didn’t tell him. He didn’t tell anyone until they were back in New York.

A third of his friends were in jail, another were on the run, and the rest were left to pick up the pieces along with him. Rhodey… Gosh, Rhodey. He was more important than anything else at the moment. So he didn’t say a word about Siberia to anyone. It might have been a lot worse if the Spider-kid hadn’t been there, an annoying voice tried to reason with him. (It was FRIDAY and Tony threatened to shut her down if she kept it up.)

He thought he owed the kid to at least get him home safely, give him some means to keep himself safe while he tried to keep the world safe… New York… Queens. While he tried to keep Queens safe.

Tony pushed all his pain behind the carefully crafted mask and tried to play it all off, to indulge Peter, to pretend it was all okay.

When Tony reached to open Peter’s door and the kid hugged him, it was like he could feel it wasn’t all okay.

The warm embrace, the unfamiliar feeling of someone’s arms around him so gently and genuinely that he was only used to receiving from Pepper… it caught him off guard, scared him, made him panic.

“It’s not a hug,” he blurted out. “I’m just grabbing the door for you. We’re not there yet.”

He tried to pass it off as a joke. It wasn’t really successful, even made the entire situation more awkward, but it was already out, so he let it go.

He watched the teenager get inside his building, sending the black sedan one last smile before he ran up the stairs.

He told Happy to drive him to the tower and pulled out his phone, dialling a number he’d been too scared of reaching until then.

“Hey Pep,” he said when she picked up. “Do you have a second?”

2.

It had been a week and Rhodey still kept laughing about it. To be fair, Tony felt slightly offended. He couldn’t see what’s so funny about it. He’d turned a bad situation into a good one and for once there were absolutely no casualties, so he actually considered that a win.

The kid could stay in the shadows, and Tony could watch over him and, in the meantime, finally marry Pepper. There really were no downsides to the plan, as far as he could see. And if his denouement got just a little bit attention from the media, well. That wouldn’t be the first time the spotlight was trained on the two of them. They could handle it.

After the Vulture fiasco, Tony had made sure to legalize Peter’s internship, make things more believable, keep an eye on him, help out with his tech(, social life, homework… whatever he needed), teach him whatever he deemed necessary one step at a time and even get his insight on some things. The kid was as smart as he’d initially thought. He shouldn’t have cut him off like that after Berlin, but… Tony had needed to figure out his own life first before he messed up the kid’s.

Tony had decided not to sell the Tower, in the end. It was home. It brought up a ton of bad memories, sure, but not as much as the Compound did. So after a short council with Pepper, he’d declined the offer. Took it off the market. Moved back in. There were plans to fix it up, redecorate, build new memories. All as soon as possible, of course.

He laid down ground rules. Gave the kid a schedule. Tried not to smile at his plate-sized glassy eyes as he did so.

And now, a week after his “test” (Tony sighed every time he thought of that word, in its air quotes), on a warm and sunny Saturday, Tony had sent Happy to drive his intern to the Tower, he loved how worked up his friend got every time he was asked to play babysitter.

Despite anything Tony had told Pepper and Rhodey and Happy, he was a nervous wreck about his first “playdate” with Peter, as his fiancée had teasingly called it. The moment his head of security was out of sight, Tony had dove in every pantry he could find in search of snacks, even going as far as digging out his secret stashes. He had a whole table in the lab cleared just for a dozen tiny bowls and several packages (of healthy dried fruit because he was a responsible adult, duh), and checked several times if everything was in order in Peter’s designated corner that he’d spent an hour cleaning up the previous day (everything was perfectly spotless all sixteen times he’d checked but it didn’t stop him from checking _again_ ).

He’d had FRIDAY alert him the second Happy parked the car so he could ~~pretend he’d been nonchalantly tinkering with an old suit~~ greet the kid when he arrived.

An hour and a near-anxiety attack later (because that was the first time he was letting anyone aside from Bruce and Helen work in his labs but that was different because they were professionals and knew how full of shit Tony actually was but this kid looked up to him and idolised him and was so excited to be there and what if he was so disappointed and let down and unimpressed by the lab, the building, _Tony_ ), the elevator chimed as its doors retracted to reveal a starry eyed child. Tony refused to see him in any different light whenever he entered this state of his. It was ridiculous.

He observed with a raised eyebrow and a smirk as Peter looked around, mouth gaping open, eyes drinking in every single detail as if he believed it would all disappear if he blinked. Tony tilted his head at the box in the kid’s hands, amusement lighting up his face.

“Hey, Underoos,” he spoke finally and Peter snapped his attention back to him, a blinding smile overtaking his face.

“Hi, Mr. Stark! Thank you so much for this opportunity, I really appreciate it and I promise I won’t--”

“Of course, don’t worry about it. It’s my pleasure.”

Tony had to blink a few times as his brain tried to comprehend the blush spreading across Peter’s skin. Had he said something wrong? The kid cleared his throat and stretched out his arms, offering Tony the box.

“I uh, I heard about your engagement, and I, uh-- I mean, congratulations! I’m really happy for you and I’m glad you and Miss Potts are making such an important step in you relationship. I-- I mean, uh. I didn’t know what the proper procedure was for the occasion, so I, uh, I got you these?” Peter’s voice weakened gradually and ended more with a question than a statement. He was still clutching the box of chocolates in front of him and didn’t show any signs of getting his wits about him before Tony accepted the gift, so the man took them from him and twisted around to put them down on the snack table.

“Thanks, I’m sure Pepper’s going to love them.” The kid beamed and awkwardly put his hands on the straps of his backpack. “Wanna get started?”

Peter nodded enthusiastically and followed diligently as Tony showed him around and presented him with his own workspace. He was worried for a second there that the kid was gonna tear up but he seemed to get himself together in time and pointed another sunlight-charged smile his way before he started unpacking his bag, taking out all sorts of unfinished projects and spare metal parts, an old battered notebook and a very crumpled red-and blue suit.

Tony pursed his lips as he closed his eyes, inhaled, exhaled, and opened them again.

“Kid, you know that’s a multimillion dollar suit, right? With multimillion dollar technology in it?”

Peter looked back at him with big puppy eyes (Tony was almost sure he just couldn’t physically not have them), about to start apologising and the billionaire just sighed in defeat. _He needed to be tough, he needed to be tough_. Otherwise he’d never hear the end of it and he knew the probability of Rhodey live-streaming this innocent interaction was close to certain.

“You know what, just… never mind. Do you have any ideas? Something that could be improved, something you’d like to toy around with, maybe? Teach the old man how you kids do it nowadays?”

He cringed internally as Peter looked at him oddly. Way to go and be weird. What was the matter with him? He was Tony Stark. He was used to being light-hearted and easy-going and not fuck up basic social interaction, most of the time. Why was he making such an idiot of himself in front of a fifteen-year-old?

Peter shrugged and took one of his web-shooters to Tony, explaining the mechanics behind it. He had to give it to the kid, his design was incredible. The materials were shit, but the design was unique and creative.

He piped in here and there, offering advice and praise, handing him parts he knew he had lying around and promising to supply him with the rest the next time he was there. As he left him to work on his own projects for the time being, making it more than clear that he was available whenever Peter felt like he needed something ( _and do help yourself to the snacks_ ), Tony went back to his own desk.

Some time passed with them working in silence, rock playing softly in the background as to not overwhelm the kid’s senses. Dum-E and Butterfingers whirred in distress, taking Tony’s attention off U’s upgrade to pin them with a promising glare that they were next. It was about time for their annual checkup and he wouldn’t have them wheeling around before he was done.

“So, uh,” Peter started, not too far off. “That test last week. About me becoming an Avenger. Was it really? A test, I mean.” Tony smiled gently.

“No. I was very much serious. You left us with our hands empty and our jaws hanging, not gonna lie there. You’re just full of surprises, kid. We had to improvise for the press so… I guess I have you to thank.” He turned around to face his intern. “For giving me that nudge to finally do what I’d been wanting to do for so, so long.”

Peter was staring at him with a gaping mouth and watery eyes and at this point Tony was doubting his own judgement because this boy couldn’t possibly look at the world like that all the time, could he?

“I’m the reason Iron Man is getting married,” he wheezed as he spun around in his chair and faced his web-shooter again. Tony scoffed. No, the reason he was getting married was _his undying love for Pepper and hers for him_. Everything else was a mere coincidence.

Tony got only a few quiet moments before the kid spoke again.

“Hey, Mr. Stark, now that I’m practically an Avenger,--”

“You’re not, you turned me down.”

“--Can I meet Thor?”

Tony’s hands froze over U’s hardware as he narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

There he was, Tony Stark, in the flesh and blood and metal, sharing his lab with a teenager out of anyone else in the world and the kid wanted _Thor_? Unbelievable.

“No.”

3.

Months passed and the two of them worked out a system, learned to cooperate with each other on various projects and, inevitably, got closer. Occasionally, Tony would let Peter pick the playlist for the day and, more often than not, he’d find his knowledge on pop culture expanded through the kid’s blabbering during most of their time together.

They’d both relaxed after a while that first weekend, became more confident around each other and their interaction had resulted in them getting on like a house on fire. Quite literally sometimes. Dum-E was on fire extinguisher duty every time Peter came over, staying alert even when they’d fall asleep in the middle of the night. (More than once he’d decided it was time to use his trusty weapon. On them. During that particulate state of theirs.)

Their hangouts became casual. Peter no longer stuttered like a flustered fan every time he was in the same room as Tony, and his mentor didn’t panic again about having to take care of a teenager after that first time. Mostly.

Christmas came and went, and Peter was invited to spend as much of his winter break as he wanted at the Tower, now back in business and in mint condition. (They’d given him a room! In the penthouse! He was still debating if that had been a dream.) It had been really thoughtful of Tony to offer, as May was too busy at work most of the time, despite the holidays, and Ned and MJ were both away visiting family.

It was odd, attending the famous Stark Industries New Year’s Eve Party. Peter kept tugging at his collar, fidgeting so hard he was practically vibrating. Eventually, long before midnight, Tony lured him into their lab and told him he could stay there as long as he wanted. After he was gone, Peter kept beating himself over the entire situation. He’d been invited to one of the most famous parties of his time yet he was botching it up. All because he couldn’t handle a bit of noise and conversation. Yet whatever he told the terrified voice in his head, he couldn’t bring himself to go back out there, to mingle, make acquaintances. So he busied both his hands and his mind with whatever project they had going on at the time.

A while later both Tony and Pepper slipped inside to check on him. And if it just happened that the clock hit twelve just then, well, what a coincidence. The two adults shared a kiss and then Tony busted out the children’s champagne he had hidden in the mini-fridge for whatever reason. They didn’t care about the rumours that were quite possibly already spreading around, that the hosts had slinked off so soon to who knew where, doing who knew what. But it was New Year, everyone was somewhat drunk and no one really cared that much to begin with. Tony and Pepper least of all. All they cared about was that they’d taken responsibility for Peter and it just didn’t feel right, leaving him alone at a time that was supposed to be shared, at least with friends. And weren’t they friends at that point?

They stood there, leaning on a worktable, each with a mug of fizzy soda in hand, eyes trained on the fireworks illuminating the vast New York skyline.

-

A day before Valentine’s day Peter was at the Tower. It didn’t take much for Tony to notice something was off with the kid. He seemed jittery, nervous, not at all his relaxed self.

He thought the situation through for a while but in the end decided not to meddle, as out of character for him as that was. If something was truly bothering him, Tony trusted him to open up.

He couldn’t judge him for being so out of tune, though, because Tony himself was more distracted than usual. The wedding was approaching with the speed of light and both he and Pepper were all over the place, trying to juggle both managing the company, dealing with paperwork and planning the event themselves because Pepper absolutely refused to let anyone else be in control of _her_ wedding. Not to mention the little bomb she’d dropped on him a few days ago. He couldn’t decide if he was more panicked or happy.

They worked quietly for a while, each buried in their own thoughts.

Peter was anxious for various reasons, usually just because he was Peter. But this time he actually had a reason, he tried to convince himself. For the past few weeks he’d been trying to fight off this feeling in his chest, a pestering tingling that only showed up every time he saw his new best friend. And it bothered him because it was familiar. He’d experienced it with Liz too, before... before he’d screwed that up because her dad was a criminal who kept trying to kill him. And it hadn’t been her fault, he knew that, and he knew he was the only one to blame for all the times he’d hurt her. Still. He was terrified it might happen again, as irrational as it sounded. After all, what was the chance that two of the two girls he’d ever liked were connected to criminals?

It was different with MJ, though. As much as he enjoyed her sarcasm and dry humour, her spiky exterior and her genius mind, she absolutely and utterly terrified him. For those exact same reasons. He didn’t know how to approach the entire thing. He didn’t want to ruin things with MJ too. He knew that one wrong sentence, one wrong word could jeopardize their newfound friendship. And as much as Peter loved Ned, he also loved having more than one friend.

And MJ was so cool. She always knew facts no one else did and had the perfect approach to the Decathlon team. She made fun of all of them but it was obviously more fond and half-hearted than anything Flash had ever said to Ned and Peter. That was another thing – her attitude towards the bully. She always managed to put him back in his place, to remind him that he wasn’t better than everyone like he constantly thought. She towered above all of them, in her height and in her knowledge. Despite the fact that every person on the team had a sphere of specialty, she somehow always managed to have one foot in every field. After dwelling in the shadows for so long, she now bathed in the spotlight of success. The team was thriving, and it was all her credit.

She’d give them book recommendations, sometimes even lend her won books, she’d lecture them on social justice and she’d always call them out on their shit. And she always looked badass doing all of it, with her wild curls gathered out of her face and her smirk tilted just so remind Peter of a Greek goddess. (Megara specifically, even though he knew she wasn’t technically a goddess. There was just something in her that reminded him of MJ too much.) And every time she walked past him, Peter would catch a whiff of her perfume, something light and floral, barely there, barely recognizable.

Tony observed the dazed look on his intern’s face with a raised eyebrow. The kid had been staring at his hands for the past ten minutes, completely missing his mentor’s continuous attempts at conversation, becoming redder and redder in with each passing moment despite the smile stretched across his face.

In the end, Tony’s frustration prevailed and he snapped his fingers in front of the kid.

“Hey! Junior!” Peter blinked a few times, finally returning to his senses. “What’s up with you? You’re all… spacey.”

The intern sputtered, fumbling for an excuse, not managing to find one. Tony laughed and offered him a blueberry. He’d quickly deduced that that was Peter’s favourite snack, at least from the ones he had lying around. The kid sighed, leaning a cheek on the apple of his palm, chewing slowly on the fruit.

“It’s nothing, Mr. Stark, just… I don’t know, I guess I’m a little confused is all.”

“Yeah? About what?”

Peter bushed again, avoiding Tony’s eyes.

“Really, Mr. Stark, it’s not important. It’s stupid, I just… I dunno.”

“You know the purpose of this whole internship is to help you out with problems, right? I can’t do that if you don’t tell me what the problem is, though.”

“I know, Mr. Stark, I’m sorry. I think I have to figure out this one on my own, though. Or at least try to.” He tried to smile encouragingly but it might have come out more as a grimace. Tony regarded him for a few seconds before nodding.

“Okay, fine, be it that way. And cut the Mr. Stark crap, it’s been how long already, you can just call me Tony.” Peter looked at him, lips twitching upwards. It was a passing joke between them at this point, his formality.

“Sure, Tony.”

The billionaire swung around sharply, letting out a loud “okay” and going back to his space.

“Hey, M- Tony? Put some music on?” Tony cracked a smile at the request, ordering FRIDAY to play the “Brain Food” playlist. ‘ _Back in Black’_ blasted through the speakers, bringing up memories from so long ago. The kid grinned and tapped his head to the beat, worries buried beneath the guitar notes at least for the time being.

“Oh, I love Led Zeppelin!” he exclaimed and Tony felt a chill in his bones.

No, nope. Tony rights revoked, Tony rights _revoked_.

The kid was in for a rock lesson, Tony decided as he ordered FRIDAY to open his music folder.

4.

Peter’s prom rolled around in a flash but at least he didn’t have to worry about finding a tuxedo. As much as he appreciated Ben’s suit, it just didn’t fit him right. It was wide at the shoulders and too long at the legs, and scratched at his neck, and it carried memories and guilt.

Tony had insisted on giving Peter a new suit for the wedding after he’d seen the boy’s face when he’d asked him if he had anything to wear. There was grief and sadness and dread on it. It didn’t sit right with the billionaire. And besides, they’d known each other for so long by that point, it would have been absolutely ridiculous not to lend a hand.

So he’d offered Peter to borrow one of his suits, just for the wedding, in case he wasn’t comfortable. The kid had agreed reluctantly but then forgot about it, because, honestly, wearing one of Tony Stark’s suits to Tony Stark’s wedding? Yeah, right. (He still couldn’t completely believe that he was even invited to it to begin with.) Besides, it wasn’t like Peter could ask for it. No, not a chance.

And one afternoon a couple of weeks later, Tony had met him at the elevator before he’d even stepped out of it, leading him in the opposite direction of the lab, _in the direction of the bedrooms_ , babbling on about measurements and fabrics and Peter had just been so confused.

They’d entered the master bedroom and Peter’d had about half a mind to stop walking but his mentor had been a man on a mission that mission had taken them to the humongous walk-in closet that had been bigger than Peter’s living room. A dark blue suit had been hanging in front of a mirror, surrounded by hundreds of other clothes yet drawing the attention from them with its significance.

“Well?” Tony had said. “Try it on.”

Peter had been aware that had been the purpose of the suit, to be tried on by him, yet he’d still found himself spluttering at the suggestion. Tony had rolled his eyes, calling behind his back as he’d been walking out that he’d wait in the bedroom for him.

When he’d put it on, he’d felt like he was trying on the Spider-Man suit for the first time again, with awe and the fear of ruining it in his eyes. Reluctantly, he’d stepped out and stopped awkwardly in front of Tony, a matching dark blue tie in hand.

“I uh… I don’t know how to do it,” he’d said, lifting the element weakly. Tony had grinned, springing to his feet, taking it from him and getting to work. He had to give himself some credit, or a lot of credit, the kid looked spectacular. It fit perfectly, it looked perfectly and by the look on Peter’s face, he really liked it too. When he’d been done with the tie, he’d made him spin, pretended to look him over and nodded in satisfaction.

“Yeah, this will do. You like it?” Peter’s eyes had almost bulged out at the question.

“Are you kidding? It’s amazing! It’s better than anything I could ever afford and I… Are you sure you’re okay with me borrowing this?” A crease had formed between his eyebrows in concern but Tony had waved him off immediately.

“I probably have at least one more like this in there somewhere, don’t worry. Besides, I don’t usually wear this colour and you look better in it than me.”

The wedding had gone swimmingly, he and Pepper had been made when they brought out the champagne, and the whole thing had become an even happier event.

Pepper had gone to the bathroom when Tony had approached Peter, who had been looking at his aunt dancing with Happy. Immediately, his attention had switched targets and a gigantic million-watt smile had overtaken his face.

“Tony! Congratulations!”

“Hey kid. Thanks, you having fun?

“Oh, yeah, everything’s great, don’t worry! And uh…” he had trailed off, ears turning pink. “Thanks again for the suit.”

Tony had plastered his arm on Peter’s shoulders with a grin, shaking his head.

“My pleasure. Keep it safe for me, yeah?” The intern had blinked a few times, not really registering what that meant, and then his eyes had almost popped out of their sockets.

“Wait, you mean…”

“Yeah. Keep it. I told you, I have at least one more like it.”

“But…”

“No buts. I’ve made up my mind. You can’t return a present.”

They’d stood at the table in silence for a few moments, observing everyone just having fun. Then Peter had spoken, saying what had been on his mind for a while now.

“You didn’t just have this lying around, did you? I know for a fact that all your suits are tailored and there’s absolutely no way for me to be your size.” Tony had side-eyed him, keeping quiet, though a smile had twitched at his lips. “Thank you, Tony.” There’d been something in his voice that had made the older man turn to look at him, quiet affection drenching each word. Peter had walked backwards towards his aunt as he’d finished their conversation. “You’re going to be an amazing father.”

Those words had been an anchor to Tony for the past few months, while he and Pepper switched from Wedding Fever to Baby Fever. Somehow, nothing anyone else said mattered to him, but the reassurance of his intern. _He was going to be a great father_. He would rather die than come anywhere near Howard’s ways of parenting. And he’d never forgive himself if his child felt anything like Tony had during his own childhood.

He’d spaced out, he knew that, and for long enough, apparently, that Peter noticed too.

“Are you okay?” the kid asked. Tony shook himself out of it.

“Peachy. Whatcha workin’ on?” he tried to deflect as he walked towards his intern’s worktable. He listened as Peter explained the logistics behind his newest project, talking animatedly and letting excitement spike up his words. When he finished, he leaned back smugly and looked Tony straight in the eyes.

“So what’s up with you?”

The man narrowed his eyes, a coy smile dancing at his lips.

“You’ve got me all figured out, don’t you, kid?” Peter beamed at him. “Okay, then. If you simply _must_ know,” Tony said as he leaned with his back towards the table, keeping track of his intern with his peripheral vision. “I was thinking about the baby. About… what it’s gonna be like, when I finally bring something good into this world.”

At Peter’s distressed noise, Tony turned to face him again.

“What?”

“What do you mean ‘finally bring something good into this world’?” the boy furrowed his eyebrows. “You haven’t stopped making the world better, fixing everyone’s mistakes--”

“Yeah, mine included. You have no idea how much of the misery on this planet is my fault. Weapons I designed, contracts I signed, all of it culminating in one big toxic mushroom over the entire Earth.”

A muscle was twitching in Peter’s cheek, his eyes glassy as he listened to his hero blame himself for so much out of his reach.

“That’s not true,” he said finally with a weak voice. “You shouldn’t be responsible for your father’s choices, for Stane’s choices. It was you who turned this death-reining company into the biggest clean energy supply on the globe. It was you who brought the stocks to an all-time high. Iron Man might be a superhero, but Tony Stark is a hero as well. And it just so happens that both of these people are you and I know you and there is _no one_ who’s done more for humanity than you.”

Tony had to swallow the lump in his throat before he could speak again. He wondered what he’d done right to deserve this boy’s admiration, to deserve to be spoken of this way. And Peter must have been right about at least something, Tony must have done at least one good thing to be worthy of the stars in his eyes. It just never seemed to be enough. He cleared his throat, playing the sarcasm card to mask the vulnerable state he’d been put in by a fifteen-year-old.

“You learn all that from a documentary?”

The kid rolled his eyes good-heartedly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Come on, Tony, I watch the news.” That was a half-truth; he actually _had_ seen a documentary at school but that was beside the point.

“There are still news?” Tony gasped, desperately trying to lighten the conversation, making Peter chuckle and then frown in annoyance.

“Unfortunately,” he grumbled, sighing deeply.

“You having trouble with someone?”

Peter hesitated, unwilling to admit how much the damn TV host got under his skin. He didn’t make it a habit to watch his show but May and Ned went on a rampage every once in a while when he said something completely wrong about Spider-Man again. It wouldn’t have been such a problem if there weren’t so many people who actually believed him.

“The Daily Bugle is constantly on my ass.”

“Hey, language,” Tony reacted before he could stop himself and wondered when he’d become _that_ guy. But then he processed what Peter had just said and scoffed. “What, Jameson? That guy is such a douche. Don’t mind him. He’s but a fly in the world. Soon he’ll get too cocky and stick in a spider’s web.” He smirked, proud of his joke, which seemed to fly right over the kid’s head.

“Yeah, I hope you’re right.” He kept quiet for a while, fidgeting with a screwdriver before he grimaced and groaned, slamming his head on the table. Tony swiped the tool away before the intern had the chance to embed it in his skull.

“Now what,” he asked in exasperation.

“I just remembered.” His voice was muffled, head still glued to the tabletop. Tony waited for elaboration but none followed.

“That you can speak in full sentences?” he prompted.

“That I need to change my strategy.”

The billionaire found himself in a complete loss. He had no idea what that cryptic message could mean and the conversation had suddenly turned very irritating very quickly.

“Kid, you gotta talk to me normally. I’m too old to play games.”

Peter heaved another deep sigh and raised his head to rest it on his folded hands, turning it ever so slightly to look at his mentor in desperation.

“I had this whole plan figured out to ask MJ to prom but… It seems so stupid and over-the-top now and she’s going to hate it and she’s probably going to hate me too.”

_Ah. So that’s what this was about._

The man pursed his lips in an attempt to hide his smile.

“That’s your friend from Decathlon, right?”

“Yeah, she’s my other best friend aside from Ned. And I really can’t mess this up.”

“Well, it seems to me that if she really is so close to you, you should just be yourself. If she knows you and has stuck by your side nonetheless, you don’t really have to do much to impress her.”

“You don’t get it, Tony, it’s different. I don’t want to ask her as a friend, I-- I like her.” Peter looked at him and Tony raised an eyebrow. He got that much. “She’s just so out of my league and what if she doesn’t feel the same way? I’ll have ruined our friendship in vain.”

The man exhaled through his nose and rested a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“I do get it, kid. You know, once upon a time, I found myself in the same situation, except I wasn’t as smart as you to realise I could lose this amazing woman. I took her for granted, hurt her, demanded so much of her. But you’re different. Your heart is in the right place and you care about others more than about yourself.” He squeezed his fingers around Peter’s shoulder in encouragement. “If you’re really so scared of ruining what’s already there, you don’t have to state boldly that you expect something from her, be subtle. Make up an excuse, make her laugh, and really, please, be yourself. You’d be surprised but you really are a great person to be around, Peter. If it’s meant to be, it’ll all work out in the end.”

Peter surged to wrap his arms around his mentor, still mindful of his strength. Tony tensed for a few seconds before reciprocating. Sooner rather than later, though, he let go and patted the boy’s back in a request to be released from the death grip he’d been trapped in.

“That wasn’t a hug, you had something on your back,” he called over his shoulder as he made his way to the minibar and pulled out a water bottle. Peter laughed and settled back in his chair.

5.

It was the last day before Peter left for Europe and for whatever reason, he’d decided he wanted to spend it with Tony instead of his aunt, who wasn’t on call as if for the first time in forever. He’d insisted that he was just too curious about the upgrade on the nano-suit to wait _two entire weeks_ , but Tony couldn’t help but wonder if there wasn’t something else there too.

The man glared at his intern from the side of his eye. The teenager was hanging upside down from the ceiling, clinging to a single strand of web, the hood of his sweatshirt half-empty despite the volume of his curly hair. He was balancing a pack of apricots with his other hand, eyes trained on the screen FRIDAY had brought up for them to display the progress.

“Why are you actually here,” Tony asked after a few moments of silence, almost causing the kid to choke. He frowned. No, that one was on Peter. Gravity wasn’t discovered to be defied in _such_ ways. “Get down from there, I don’t want to have to explain to May… whatever you’re bound to inflict on yourself.”

Dropping to the ground with a mostly soundless thud, the teenager righted his clothes and hair and cleared his throat.

“Uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about, I told you, I--”

Tony raised an eyebrow at his flushed cheeks and tried to suppress a smirk.

“Sure, kid.”

“ _I do_.”

The billionaire left the words hanging there for a second before crossing his arms and leaning a hip on the surface closest to his body which so happened to be the mini-fridge, which swayed shakily beneath his weight. Still, he showed no sign of concern.

“You do,” he confirmed with finality. “But that’s not the only reason. Come on, spill the beans. You know you can talk to me about anything.”

Peter hesitated and Tony realised that somewhere along the way that had really become the essence of their relationship. They could talk about anything and everything without ever feeling judged or misunderstood. They could both offer quality advice and save a situation, while at the same time being on board for absolutely reckless and irrational ideas. Tony would tell Pepper that was part of their charm every time she’d look at him in disappointment and she’d sigh and accept that she’d signed up for this, consciously and voluntarily.

“Well, it’s nothing, really.”

The man groaned dramatically.

“Nooo. We’ve been over this. Every time you say that you’re just trying to play down the importance of the situation. Cut the crap. What’s the matter? Come on, you don’t have all day.”

Peter grimaced and pulled out a chair before struggling to find a comfortable position. Then, he proceeded to space out somewhere between Tony’s shoes. The adult was on the edge of his patience when he finally took a deep breath and fired off his next words.

“I wanted to run a plan by you but it’s not something we usually talk about. I mean, we have, but it’s not like mechanics or chemistry, it’s more… I don’t know how to put it but I have this plan.” He leaned forward, mouth going a hundred miles per hour. “Presumably, MJ and I are going to spend a lot of time together on the trip and I was thinking that maybe this is the perfect opportunity to… you know, to maybe see if-- if she sees me as more than a friend too, and I was just thinking that you’re Tony Stark. I-- I mean, you’re obviously much more experienced than me in this and I was hoping that maybe you could help me out… with this?”

Tony blinked at him slowly, letting his mind process all information before answering.

“So, basically, you want me to play Cupid?”

“No! No, no, that’s not what I meant, I just-- I need to know I’m not doing anything wrong.

“And you think I’m an example for not doing anything wrong?” The man snorted.” Kid! I thought you knew me better than that!”

“Don’t mock me!”

“I’m not! Sorry, I’m not, it’s just a funny situation is all. Don’t get me wrong, okay? I’ll do whatever I can to help, I just don’t know to what extent I can actually be of use to you.”

“It’s just that… You know how to talk to women. Obviously. And I… don’t. I mean, it’s different to talk to her as just a friend but… I really like her. Really.”

The billionaire smiled gently, eyes shining with understanding, crinkling at the corners.

“Pete, if there’s one thing you should have realised about me by now, it's that I have a terrible reputation with women. Most of the time they were only interested in Howard’s money and I… I didn’t refuse what they offered. I know, I know, this probably sounds awful and degrading, but my point here is that if you set my ego and all the defence mechanisms aside, I’m just as socially awkward as you. I’ve just learned to hide it better. Honestly, I have no idea how I managed to get someone like Pepper to stay by my side. But I’d bet that’s all her and her magic. Most of the time, no matter what you do, things will only work out if it’s with the right person.”

Peter’s eyes had slowly found the floor once more, actively avoiding his mentor’s gentle gaze.

“So you’re not...”

“Oh, no, I’ll do everything in my power to help you out. I’m just saying, don’t get your hopes up about my matchmaking skills. They’re absolute shit, couldn’t even help me when I needed them. You’d probably be better off asking Pepper bout these things, or May-- hey, why not talk to May about that?”

The kid winced, rubbing at his shoulder.

“I love May but she can be really intense about these things, and… I don’t want to get her all excited about nothing.” Tony let out a deep sigh, scratching at his brow. He hoped he wouldn’t mislead the kid, but if Peter needed his help with the matter, Tony would be damned if he didn’t do everything in his power before sending him away. Not to mention, Peter Parker unsupervised and in the dark was worse than Tony Stark unsupervised and in the dark. Pepper might have been willing to argue, but _Pepper_ hadn’t seen the havoc the boy could wreck in his own room in the middle of the night when startled. If Tony was self-destructive, then Peter was unintentionally destructive and needed an adult present at all times, even if said adult shouldn’t necessarily at all times have been Tony. He gestured with a hand.

“Do tell me of the great plan, then. I’m all ears.”

The boy steeled himself, jumping to his feet and beginning to pace.

“Well. I already tried to run it by Ned but he was completely useless on the matter because he’s got this idea in his head that we’re supposedly gonna be ‘bachelors in Europe’ or whatever. Not to mention he completely embarrassed me in front of MJ! He said I was gonna collect tiny spoons! Like a grandma! So I had to save myself and threw _him_ under the bus.” Tony narrowed his eyes in concentration, struggling to keep up with the teenager’s thought flow, which rarely actually happened. “Gosh, why do best friends abuse their power like that!”

“Because they have it. I should know. You’re getting off track here, though. Plan?”

“Right. Right. First, I’m gonna sit next to MJ on the flight. Second, I’m gonna buy a dual-headphone adapter and watch movies with her, the whole time. Three, when we go to Venice, Venice is super famous for making stuff out of glass, right, so I’m gonna buy her a black dahlia necklace, because her favourite flower is a black dahlia--”

“Like the murder?”

“Yeah, pay attention. Four, when we go to Paris, I’m gonna take her to the top of the Eiffel Tower, give her the necklace, and then, five, I’m gonna tell her how I feel… And then, six, hopefully, she tells me she feels the same way.”

He finished with an expectant look in his mentor’s direction, only to find him already looking at him, an affectionate smile playing at his lips.

“What? Is it that bad?” Tony chuckled and shook his head, shifting to his other foot only to disturb the poor fridge again.

“It’s a great plan, kid. I honestly couldn’t have done better. And, normally, when it comes to these kind of things I would advise you to ask Pepper or your aunt first before doing anything overboard but you seem to have thought it all through. It sounds reasonable enough, definitely more thoughtful and low-key than anything I would have suggested, which is always a plus. And if you really like her as much as you say, nothing grandeur is going to matter in the end because the truly meaningful gestures come from the heart and go to the heart.”

Peter stared at the man with wide, unblinking, hopeful eyes. The plan was good? And- and Tony didn’t see any cracks in it?

“Are you sure my plan is going to work?” he breathed out.

“Sure? No, of course not. No one can be sure about anything these days, we have aliens. But for what it’s worth it, I know it would have worked if I’d applied it to Pep a few years ago and, you know, stopped being a douchebag earlier than I did. You’ll be fine, Underoos.”

The teenager let out a relieved laugh. In a second, he’d launched himself across the distance to his mentor, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“What for,” the billionaire wheezed out. “Your plan. Le’go now. Air.”

“Oh, sorry.” Peter retracted his limbs as quickly as he’d spread them out, grinning sheepishly.

“One more thing, though.” Tony put on a mock-serious face, screaming with dread on the inside. “In case your plan works out too swimmingly…” He stopped, swallowed, clenched his teeth and inhaled deeply. “Have you and May talked about protection yet?”

His intern yelped, jamming the heels of his palms as far in his ears as they would go.

“ _NO_!” he cried. “No, we’re not there yet, _please_ , _stop_.”

+1

His daughter is born on the last day of August. He wouldn’t be ashamed to admit he panicked more than Pepper. Okay, he wouldn’t be _too_ ashamed to admit it.

Little Morgan had her father’s hair and her mother’s charm, and the lung capacity of a professional diver, and a voice that could shatter hearts as well as glass. She was pink and tiny and had Tony’s strings wrapped around all her teeny baby fingers.

When he took her in his arms for the first time from his exhausted, beautiful, strong wife, all the sounds in the world seized to exist. There was just silence and the soft grunts of the bundle he was cradling. There was nothing he could do but marvel at the stunning wonder in front of him, so vital and important to him that he couldn’t imagine living without her again.

He stood there, not moving, not speaking, not even breathing, just staring and staring and staring until tears streaked down his face unhindered.

Eventually, Rhodey’d breath in his neck return him back to the present, making him painfully aware of the childlike glee and excitement seeping through his best friend’s voice in his requests to _finally hold his goddaughter, Tony!_

Reluctantly and as if by physical force, he transferred his greatest treasure into Rhodey’s arms, securing her sweet little head in the crook of his elbow despite the other man’s protests that he’s held plenty of babies so far, _thank you very much_.

At the noise of shuffling feet and fabric rustling, the father turned to see Peter with May and Happy at the door, a bunch of balloons gripped tightly in his fist and an ear-splitting grin on his face glowing with the force of a hundred suns. The boy beamed, attacking his mentor in a hug that could break the bones of someone less experienced than Tony. He returned the gesture just as enthusiastically, drawing the kid as close to him as he could, laughing along with him. When they separated, they were met with the fond, knowing smiles of their friends and family.

“Congratulations,” Peter all but squealed as he pulled out a chubby Spider-Man plushie from a gift bag. “May washed this with baby detergent, so you don’t have to worry about that part.”

“You just had baby detergent lying around?” the man raised an eyebrow, causing the boy to blush. Still, his enthusiasm resembled that of a puppy.

“No, we use it at home because all the others itch too much or smell too strongly. Uh, anyway, I guess I just wanted her to have something from me...”

He trailed off, gazing longingly at the newest addition to the Stark family.

“Do you want to hold her,” Tony suggested and Peter’s head whipped around, eyes going comically wide.

“May I?”

“You May,” his aunt joked from somewhere on the other side of Pepper’s bed.

He took Morgan gently, holding her to his chest gingerly, copying Tony’s state from a few minutes ago almost exactly, and Pepper had the urge to laugh. Except, he spoke to the infant.

“Hi, little one. Welcome. Wow. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid my eyes on, do you know that? Isn’t she, dad?”

He meant the last part as a joke, teasing eyes glinting with mischief, unshed tears, adoration, but as he looked at Tony over Morgan’s head, the man realized, it wasn’t really a joke. Wasn’t that absolutely and utterly the truth? Tony hadn’t just become a father. He’d just become a baby’s father. But he’d had a child, cared for a child, loved a child just like only a parent could, long before his daughter was born. He’d been Peter’s father for a while now, even if both of them hadn’t acknowledged it verbally.

He took his phone out and snapped a picture of the two of them, grinning at his kids, heart full of pride and joy and love.

“There,” he said. “Now I can show off to everyone with both of my children.”

And he knew, he had no doubt, that just like he would never let anything harm them, like he would love and support them unconditionally, just like he would be their father, Peter would take care of and look out for Morgan and be the older brother Tony couldn’t have even dreamed of providing for her.

They were family. And family sometimes meant picking your own siblings, or parents, or children. It meant being together and defying all odds. It meant security and affection and not being able to imagine the world without the others.

And that, Tony thought, was exactly what they had.

**Author's Note:**

> Peter's new suit [inspiration](https://kristieltrips.tumblr.com/post/165424383547/damn)
> 
> Find me on tumblr: [ohwriteiforgot](https://ohwriteiforgot.tumblr.com)
> 
> If you liked it, please do let me know!


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